Cruisin' Down the River

Cruisin' Down the River
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Richard Quine
Written by	Blake Edwards Richard Quine
Produced by	Jonie Taps
Starring	Dick Haymes Audrey Totter Billy Daniels The Bell Sisters
Cinematography	Charles Lawton Jr.
Edited by	Jerome Thoms
Music by	George Duning
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures Corporation
Release date	August 3, 1953 (1953-08-03)
Running time	79 min.
Country	United States
Language	English

Cruisin' Down the River is a 1953 American Technicolor musical film directed by Richard Quine. It stars Dick Haymes and Audrey Totter. The story is about a New York nightclub singer who inherits an old riverboat on the Chattahoochee River between Georgia and Alabama. It features comedy, some drama and several musical performances.

Plot summary

Beau Clemment, a singer in New York City, learns that he has inherited a riverboat once owned by his grandfather, Beauregard, who had won it from its captain, Thaddeus Jackson, in a game of chance. Jackson has been bitter ever since, his old acquaintance Humphrey Hepburn recalling how Beauregard also won the heart of the vessel's star performer, Melissa Curry.

Beau travels to Alabama to claim the boat, which he finds in something far less than ship-shape condition. Unsure whether to scrap it or sell what's left of it, Beau meets singer Sally Jane Jackson, granddaughter of Thaddeus, and they develop a mutual attraction. He elects to restore the vessel and launch it with entertainment and gambling. He even recruits Thaddeus's singing butler, William, to perform aboard ship.

Thaddeus objects to his ownership and presence, doing everything in his power to scuttle the venture. By the time the law catches up to it, Beau's boat has sailed into Georgia, out of its jurisdiction. Thaddeus, finally accepting the situation, is given a 50-50 interest in the boat with Beau, who is about to wed Sally Jane and become a part of the family.

Cast

• Dick Haymes as Beauregard Clemment / Beau Clemment II
• Audrey Totter as Sally Jane Jackson
• Billy Daniels as William
• Cecil Kellaway as Thadeus Jackson
• Connie Russell as Melissa Curry
• Douglas Fowley as Humphrey Hepburn
• Larry J. Blake as Dave Singer (as Larry Blake)
• Johnny Downs as Young Thad
• Benny Payne as Benny
• Cynthia Strother as Singer (as The Bell Sisters)
• Kay Strother as Singer (as The Bell Sisters)

External links

• Cruisin' Down the River at IMDb 
• Cruisin' Down the River at AllMovie
• Cruisin' Down the River at the TCM Movie Database
• Cruisin' Down the River at the AFI Catalog of Feature Films
• Cruisin' Down the River film clip on YouTube